Takoyaki no neechan!
by micchimelon
Summary: A girl played at the game booth so that Kin-chan could claim the big, fluffy takoyaki-designed pillow prize. In exchange, the rowdy freshman "invited" Shiraishi to treat the girl some takoyaki. He ended up with a hole in his wallet, but with a new-found friendship. ShiraishiXOC; one-shot.


Takoyaki no neechan!

_A Shiraishi Kuranosuke x OC one-shot romance fic_

"Waah~ There are so many food stalls here, Shiraishi!" Tooyama Kintarou, a rowdy, fun-loving freshman student of Shitenhouji Chuu exclaimed as he ran ahead of his guardian, which in this case, is the tennis club's captain, to wonder at the amazing arrangement of the cultural festival of their school.

It was Shitenhouji's _bunkasai_ or school cultural festival where students show off what they've learned at school to their visitors through the presentation of exhibits, skits, musicals, and other works.

The school courtyard was filled with colorful posters and flyers of different cultural presentations from different classes and clubs. As for the tennis club, their presentation is a skit scheduled on the last day of the festival week. But since today was just the opening of the festival, they could still relax a bit and enjoy the different game booths and food stalls.

And so, Tooyama Kintarou went with his senpai, knowing that he brought pocket money with him. A free rider, you may call him, but he provides a sense of wildness to the team. And in the Shitenhouji spirit, the one who laughs first is the winner!

"_Hora_, Kin-chan," Shiraishi Kuranosuke, the captain of the team said to the wild redhead. "Don't wander too far from me or you'll get lost. And if you do, you won't be able to buy or eat anything because you don't have money, right?"

His face lit up with excitement, if that was even possible, considering his already-too-enthusiastic-face.

"Let's go, Shiraishiiiiii~" He said loudly as he ran to Shiraishi once again and pulled on his sleeves. "The game booths are over there!"

The first booth that they encountered, which was the one nearest to them, was a ring toss booth being manned by a third year male student.

"Nii-chan, I want to try this!" Kintarou declared with his loud voice as soon as they reached the said booth.

The male student manning the booth grinned at him and said, "That'll be fifty yen!"

The hyper redhead looked eagerly at Shiraishi, innocently blinking his eyes as he waited for him to get his wallet. After several seconds of eye contact, the captain finally surrendered and sighed.

He got out his wallet from his pocket and fished out a fifty yen-coin from it.

"Kin-chan, are you sure you can toss a ring around one of those pegs?" The doubtful captain pointed to the little wooden pegs on the ground. "If not, then my fifty yen would just go to waste!"

The freshman wasn't discouraged, however. "I can do it, Shiraishiiiii~" He proclaimed in a sing-song manner.

Shiraishi sighed once again and handed the coin to the student manning the booth.

"The game is quite easy, kid." He said as he scratched at his left cheek. "Just stand there, yes where you are right now, and toss a ring around one o' these little things, yes they're called pegs, heh. You get three tries, you hear that? Just three tries!"

Kintarou balled his fists and punched in the air. "This is easy! I bet I could get it in just the first try!"

The student laughed at Kintarou and handed him three rings.

And true to his words, his first try was a success.

* * *

"Waaah~ The prize is so lame!" Tooyama Kintarou complained exasperatingly to his senpai, clutching the prize he won at the ring toss booth. "What am I going to do with three sticker pads?!"

Laughing, Shiraishi answered, "And it's pink too! Kin-chan, just give it to one of the girls in your class. I'm sure any girl will like it."

Kintarou sighed and said, "I wish one of the game booths here has takoyaki-related prizes… Like a coupon for unlimited takoyaki from a takoyaki stall or a takoyaki stuffed toy or something…"

"Ooh, look at that, Kin-chan!" Shiraishi pointed at a nearby game booth.

"I-is that… a takoyaki pillow?!" The wild takoyaki addict immediately ran towards the said booth to check the prize out. He looked funny and silly at the same time, running in that childish way. As he said, it was a huge takoyaki-designed pillow. It was placed on top of the prize shelf, which means it is the grand prize.

Shiraishi followed his kouhai and asked the student manning the booth, "Is that a takoyaki pillow?"

The male student nodded and smiled at them. "A takoyaki-designed pillow, yes. It's the grand prize of this booth! Just fifty yen for three tries!"

"I will try it, nii-chan!" Kintarou declared loudly yet again. "Katta mon Gachi ya!"

"O-oi, Kin-chan, this is the archery booth, you know! Do you even know how to properly shoot an arrow or at least hold a bow?" Shiraishi said hesitantly.

"N-no, but I'm sure I can do it! That prize has to be won by me after all!" He said with utmost confidence of himself.

"Fifty yen, it is!" The student said and continued, "Just stand there behind the yellow line, kid. If you're curious, that's exactly seven meters distance. Use the bow to shoot the arrows. Three tries, alright?"

Kintarou nodded fervently and looked yet again at his senpai, waiting for the payment. Shiraishi got another fifty-yen coin from his wallet and handed it to the student, much to his chagrin.

"Well then, kid, here's your bow and arrow. You said you can do it, right? Heh. There you go, just stand behind the yellow line over there. Three tries, don't forget."

Kintarou took the bow and quiver of arrows from him and enthusiastically went to stand behind the yellow line. Shiraishi, on the other hand, stayed on the side to observe. He was pretty sure that his kouhai doesn't know a single thing about how to properly use a bow, so he decided to stand by in case he got injured.

"Shiraishi-san, you shouldn't have let him!"

The captain of the tennis club turned to look at the person who spoke to him.

"Hirayama-san?"

It was Hirayama Yuni, a member of the archery club and an acquaintance of Shiraishi since they had been in the same class last year. He wouldn't exactly call them "friends" because they never hang out with each other. They were just mere acquaintances.

"It's his first time, isn't it? Shooting an arrow for the first time usually causes an injury, so it's better if you would convince your kouhai to give it up!" She said with a worried expression on her face.

Shiraishi nodded and ran to his team mate to persuade him to just give up on the takoyaki pillow, with Hirayama Yuni following behind him.

"Kin-chan, don't try it. You'll just get injured, you know!"

The stubborn redhead said in defiance, "Ehh, I know I can do it! You just string the bow and release the arrow, right?"

"That's not just it, you stubborn kid." Hirayama Yuni said. "Trying archery for the first time will most likely cause you an injury."

"I'm not stubborn!" The freshman retorted. "W-who are you anyway, nee-chan?"

"Kin-chan, this is one of the archery club's few third year members, Hirayama Yuni. She has a right to stop you because she knows how archery works, you _aho_." Shiraishi told his kouhai, swatting his head lightly with his wallet.

Kintarou pouted and stomped his foot and said, "B-but I need to win the grand prize! It's a big takoyaki pillow, after all!"

Hirayama Yuni sighed and said, "_Ne_, if you want that prize so much, I could play for you. Don't worry, the pillow is yours, you stubborn kid."

His face lit up upon hearing this and dropped the bow and quiver of arrows he was holding, making everyone around them look at the three of them. The three arrows were scattered on the ground.

"W-why did you drop it?!" Yuni shrieked, putting her hands on her hips like how a mother would do when scolding her children.

Shiraishi sighed. _Mattaku_, his kouhai could be rather too reckless sometimes.

"Gomen, gomen~" The freshman said and smiled apologetically, scratching his cheek. "Go on, Takoyaki-neechan! You can do it!"

The said girl looked at Kintarou with a puzzled expression and asked, "T-takoyaki-neechan? Hirayama-senpai, _da yo_. Shiraishi-san, your team mate doesn't know how to call his senpai properly!" She said jokingly and laughed.

"Sorry 'bout that, Hirayama-san." Shiraishi smiled apologetically and turned to his team mate. "Kin-chan, let's stay over there. Give her space."

Kintarou nodded and the two of them watched as the girl from Shitenhouji Chuu's archery club picked up the bow and arrows that the redhead dropped.

It was windy, and so Yuni had to put into mind the additional speed required and the more careful calculations of the arrow's travel to the target. Slowly, she stringed the bow carefully and turned her head towards the target, estimating the arrow's travel path with the wind as an adversary.

The wind was blowing her long dark hair in a striking manner. She was of a petite stature, with a slender yet shapely figure. Her face was stamped with the utmost expression of deep concentration as she continued to estimate her chances of hitting the target, which was near to one hundred percent.

She released the bow and with a quick whipping sound, an arrow hit the center of the target.

The people watching clapped in awe, including Shiraishi and Kintarou with the latter shouting and cheering gleefully, "_Go, go, Takoyaki-neechan~!_"

Slowly and carefully, she lowered the bow and picked up the remaining arrows from the ground. After doing so, she walked towards Shiraishi and Kintarou and said, "Well then, stubborn kid. You're happy now, I suppose?" She laughed and playfully ruffled his hair. "I'm kidding!"

"Good job, Hirayama-san!" The male student manning the booth congratulated the archery club's female member. "Well then, since you hit the center, you got the takoyaki pillow!" He took the bow and arrows from her and got a stool and stood on it, grabbing the huge pillow from the top of the shelf. He handed it to Yuni with a smile.

Upon receiving the huge pillow however, Tooyama Kintarou immediately grabbed it from the girl's hands and hugged it tightly. W-was he drooling?!

"Ne, ne, Shiraishiiiii~" He said suddenly. The captain knew that tone very well. It meant… takoyaki. "Let's go eat takoyaki with Takoyaki-neechan!"

The freshman, oblivious to his captain's sigh of defeat, looked at Hirayama Yuni and gave a brilliant, bright smile.

"Sounds good to me!" Yuni said with an equally bright smile. W-was she starting to drool too?! Wow, the power of takoyaki is amazing it seems.

Suddenly, a weird sound was heard even though the noise of the cultural festival was rather loud.

Kintarou laughed at Yuni and said, "Takoyaki-neechan, are you really that hungry?!"

The girl blushed, embarrassed. Why did her stomach have to growl in front of the tennis club captain? I-it was too embarrassing!

Kintarou continued to laugh at her, and Shiraishi joined him.

Yuni sighed.

* * *

"Waaahh, takoyaki really is the best, isn't it?" The long-haired girl said after munching on her first bite. Looks like Yuni and Kintarou had gotten fairly well all because of takoyaki!

"I know, I know~!" Kintarou nodded energetically and munched on two takoyaki at the same time, making his cheeks bigger in a ridiculous way. "_Hora_, Shiraishi, you haven't touched yours yet!"

The captain chuckled and munched on his first bite after saying, "Ittadakimasu!"

Kintarou looked expectantly at him and immediately asked, "It's sooooo delicious, isn't it?!"

Shiraishi nodded.

The three of them took the table at the corner, simply because that was the only unoccupied one when they arrived. The two takoyaki enthusiasts, Kintarou and Yuni, immediately ordered two orders for each of them. That's right, each of them. Shiraishi, on the other hand, ordered only one for himself.

"Hirayama-san, I didn't know you had… quite an appetite for takoyaki," the tennis club captain commented in a joking way. He thought that she was the lady-like type of girl. But then again, who was he to say what he thinks of her? They're not friends after all—just mere acquaintances.

She sipped from her glass of water before grinning and replying, "I can't resist takoyaki, after all!"

"After we eat, let's try other booths!" Kintarou suggested excitedly, almost dropping the takoyaki on his small stick. "The drama club's play also looks interesting! Let's go see it!"

"Ohh, I wanna see it too!" Yuni agreed almost immediately and added, "Their posters look so cool and promising, don't they?"

After unanimously agreeing on watching the drama club's play, the three of them finished their food and drinks. The two takoyaki enthusiasts felt good afterwards. After all, good food without pay is one of the best things that someone can do for you, right? Shiraishi, however, secretly mourns the hole in his wallet after paying their bill.

"Hmm… The school theater is this way, right?" Yuni asked as they took a left turn on the way to watch the drama club's play in the school theater. She had seen their posters—saying it will be "the greatest comedy play of all time".

There was never a moment of silence between the three of them during their walk. Kintarou was always saying and asking a lot of things—anything about everything! It was good, the two seniors supposed. If the two of them were left alone, only an awkward silence would reign between them anyway.

"I wonder if it has started already…" Kintarou said. "Hurry up, Takoyaki-neechan, Shiraishi!" He ran ahead the two of them and waved at them to walk faster. Sheesh, he could be really too excited over a simple thing sometimes. Nonetheless, this attitude of his is what really makes him so endearing. He was also very friendly, exchanging words with Yuni as if they hadn't just met and were already long-time friends.

The three of the entered the theater and looked around. Whoa, it was hard to look for vacant seats, since almost all of them were already occupied by couples. There were vacant seats in some rows, but only one or two together. They needed three seats beside each other.

"Oh, over there!" Kintarou pointed to the three leftmost unoccupied seats in one of the rows in the middle. The two seniors followed his gaze and true to his words, they were lucky enough to get seats.

After they had settled down and gotten comfortable with their seats, with Kintarou between the two seniors, the said freshman suddenly said, "I want popcoooorn~" and looked at Shiraishi with expecting eyes. The captain, however, wasn't convinced.

"Kin-chan, we're already inside! We can't go out, unless you want someone else to get our seats."

Yuni, however, wanted popcorn too. She wasn't selfish enough to tell Shiraishi to buy some, of course. Moreover, she already owed Shiraishi a lot because he paid for her takoyaki, and also because she was genuinely having a good time with him and his kouhai. Feeling much like a free loader, she offered to buy the popcorn instead.

"I'll buy the popcorn, stubborn kid," she said to Kintarou, whom she has already started calling 'stubborn kid', and whose face suddenly lit up at her offer. "My treat!" She grinned widely and stood up to get to the nearest aisle, which was the one on the left of Shiraishi's seat.

She knew she had to walk across the row quickly, lest the people behind them get angry at her for blocking their view. Swiftly, she finally got to the aisle, her long hair trailing behind her.

Shiraishi noticed a scent after she passed by him. Was that the smell of… strawberry shampoo?

He smiled at the girl who was making her way to the nearest door.

Strawberry shampoo, eh?

He continued to smile.

She… smelled nice.

* * *

As soon as they were out of the theater after the drama club's play, their first conversation was about it.

"It was so funny!" Kintarou laughed out loud, holding his tummy while doing so.

Shiraishi nodded and added in agreement, "But they haven't seen the tennis club's skit just yet! Wait 'til they see ours!"

"Ohh~ So the tennis club is doing a skit? What will it be about, Shiraishi-san?" Hirayama Yuni asked as they were making their way towards the school courtyard where the other refreshment booths were.

"It's a secret, Takoyaki-neechan!" Kintarou was the one who answered her, sticking his tongue out in a playfully secretive way. "You should watch us!"

Shiraishi chuckled and said, "That's right, Hirayama-san. Watch it to know what it's about! You won't regret it."

Yuni pouted. Why keep it a secret? They're going to present it anyway.

It was already late in the afternoon. The skies were tinted with the familiar orange hues of sunset, with birds flying around and making relaxing sounds together with the swaying of the trees. The number students who were still in the school has already decreased a bit, making the noise go down as well.

She looked at her wrist watch the check the time. "Well then, it's almost 4:30. I think I should go now, I have a part time job to go to, you see." The member of the archery club's said as they were nearing the school gates.

"Ehh, you have a part-time job?" Kintarou asked in curiosity. "Where do you work, Takoyaki-neechan?"

She still smiled at how this stubborn kid calls her Takoyaki-neechan. He sounds so cute and endearing!

"I work at the flower shop near the park, stubborn kid." She said with a grin. She likes plants and flowers a lot—even those that don't look _that_ pretty, she still appreciates them. But of course, her favorites are the cute ones.

At this, the tennis team captain's face lit up and asked, "The one in front of the park? They have really good flowers there, don't they?" His question turned out rather energetic and excited. He couldn't help it, can he? He loves plants so much! Especially the poisonous ones.

Hirayama Yuni grinned at his enthusiasm about plants.

"Shiraishi-san, you're a big fan of botany, right?" She asked him even though she already knew he was. "I always read your column in the school paper! Every issue of the paper, you come up with a different plant that is entirely strange and fascinating. I like reading them."

Shiraishi felt happy when she said that. He thought no one was reading the articles he submitted to the newspaper club! Thankfully, someone does. His kouhai Zaizen Hikaru even said that he talks about poisonous plants too much.

"Well then, I have to go now," Yuni said, smiling. She ran to the school gates and stopped to look back at her two new friends.

"Bye bye, Takoyaki-neechan!" Kintarou yelled as he jumped up and down while waving his arms energetically. "See you again soon!"

Shiraishi was waving his hand at her, smiling.

"Bye bye, stubborn kid! You too, Shiraishi-san!" She waved back while grinning widely.

She turned around and went out of the school gates, wishing she would be able to spend the next day of the cultural festival with that stubborn kid and Shiraishi-san once again.

* * *

The remaining days of the festival were a lot of fun for Kintarou. Even Shiraishi had to admit that he genuinely had fun going around from booth to booth and watching the cultural presentations of different clubs. Every day of the festival, they would bump into Hirayama Yuni by coincidence, and so the three would spend the day together like they did on the first day of the festival.

Sometimes, Kenya and the others even went with them to watch a play or eat takoyaki. Sometimes, a friend or two of Yuni's would join them too. But at the end of the day, Kintarou, Yuni, and Shiraishi are the ones who spent almost the entire days together.

Whether the other tennis regulars and Yuni's friends were doing something else, they didn't know. Maybe it was dictated by fate that the three of them would spend the days together.

The week whizzed by quickly, and it was now the last day of the cultural festival.

Hirayama Yuni stood there under the shade of one of the trees, wondering where that stubborn kid and Shiraishi were right now, because it was already almost noon and she still haven't seen them.

She sighed, sobered by the fact that she wouldn't be able to spend the last day of the festival with her two newfound weird friends. Yes, they're weird. Very weird.

She thought that Shiraishi, as captain of the famous tennis club, would be quite the strict person. It turned out that everyone in the team believes that "the one who laughs first is the winner". Well, everyone except that second year Zaizen guy.

That's the Shitenhouji spirit after all! Heck, their principal was even encouraging such attitude. He was always making puns, and they rarely were bad puns. Their curriculum was unique too! For example, on Mondays, Yuni's first class was English but what they really discuss was American Jokes. Next was Society, which was the subject where they discuss The History of Laughter.

Really, Shitenhouji is the school where everyone enjoys his or her school life.

Yuni was thankful that her school is _this_ kind of school. She was thankful that she went here and met that stubborn kid and Shiraishi. For her, this week had been really fun. Because honestly, she was having the time of her life.

…but where are those two oddballs?

"Ne, ne, let's go watch the tennis club's skit! Shiraishi-sama is going to be there!"

Yuni overheard some of the girls say. Ohh! Today was their presentation! How could she have forgotten? And to think that the wild stubborn kid invited her too…

Yuni sighed and mentally scolded herself before running towards the school theater.

* * *

Thankfully, the show has not yet started. However, the seats were ALL occupied already.

Yuni was overwhelmed by the sight that greeted her as soon as she entered the theater. Almost all of them were girls! And they had banners too!

I guess it can't be helped, can it? The tennis regulars were good-looking people, after all. The names that were dominating among the shrieks and cheers of the girls were 'Shiraishi-sama', 'Oshitari-sama', and 'Zaizen-sama'. Yuni wanted to laugh at them, but instead, she joined them as they cheered.

She didn't shout out Shiraishi or Oshitari or Zaizen's name, however.

"Tooyama-kuuuuun!" She shouted at the top of her lungs and clapped gleefully, joining the enthusiastic cheering of the other girls. The tennis regulars were probably behind the curtain right now, since it was almost show time. She wished that the stubborn kid could hear her. After all, he was becoming one of her favorite kouhais.

She shouted his name once again and realized that her efforts were futile anyway, due to the loudness of the 'Shiraishi-sama' and 'Oshitari-sama' so she stopped.

Laughing at her own silly actions, she sat down in one of the steps in the nearest aisle, not caring whether she looked very desperate about watching the show. Who cares if sitting on the steps of the aisle is not allowed? She wanted to watch that stubborn kid and Shiraishi. She was excited.

At last, the curtains started opening, revealing a… w-wait. Is that Shiraishi?!

He was dressed as Snow White from the famous fairytale. The spotlight focused on him, as he went out to smile at the audience and have a monologue about how Prince Charming will come for her… or him, in this case.

Immediately after he flashed a smile, the audience screamed and shrieked and raised their banners, blocking Yuni's view because she was only sitting on the steps of the aisle and not on an actual seat. Yuni stood up and finally saw what the girls were screaming about.

Suddenly, Hirayama Yuni let out a loud laughter. A very loud one.

She was laughing so hard that she almost snorted, holding her stomach.

The girls around her looked at her with a what-the-hell facial expression in each of them. She couldn't help it! Shiraishi looked rather… beautiful. In a funny way.

As soon as the screams of the girls receded and the banners put down, Yuni's laugh also died down. The attention of the audience was back to Shiraishi's monologue, his voice noticeably forced out higher than his normal voice. She sat down once again to continue watching.

Yuni didn't know what was going on anymore because suddenly, Oshitari Kenya appeared dressed as Cinderella, and that second year Zaizen guy dressed as Prince Charming.

Suddenly, the theater almost exploded due to the screams of the females, which consisted around 98% of the audience. Yuni had to cover her ears lest she resorts to using a hearing aid.

Her eyes focused on Shiraishi, beautiful on that dress.

She had been his classmate last year, and she spent the days of the cultural festival with him and that stubborn kid, but she never realized that he's… very beautiful. Yuni claimed that she was asexual, you see. She claimed that she wasn't attracted to anyone—may it be a boy or a girl or a fictional character or a good-looking celebrity. She just… wasn't into those things.

She notices the good-looking boys and girls in school, but she has never thought of having a 'crush' on anyone of them.

However, right now, she suddenly noticed how Shiraishi… looks nice. Very nice. Very handsome.

Yuni suddenly felt hot. Did some wretched students tamper with the theater heater again?!

She cupped her face with her own hands, feeling the heat on her cheeks. W-why? All of a sudden, the captain of the tennis club was the only one whom Yuni gave her attention to. How his skin glowed under the spotlight, how his hair shone, how beautifully-shaped his arms were, and how… attractive he was.

_S-stop it, Yuni! You're asexual, remember?_

Just then, Tooyama Kintarou, also known as 'the stubborn kid', as she called him, appeared dressed as a dwarf. The girl couldn't help but laugh as loudly as she had when the curtains opened and revealed Shiraishi in a Snow White costume.

The girls around her looked at her again, creeped out by the weird member of the archery club.

"Tooooyama-kuuuuun!" Yuni stood up and waved her arms enthusiastically, grinning widely at the stubborn kid she had come to like. Kintarou noticed her. After all, who wouldn't notice a girl who was standing in the middle of an aisle and waving her arms like a maniac? Some people would have been creeped out, but this is Tooyama Kintarou. He waved back at her, equally enthusiastic.

Zaizen Hikaru, who was nearest to the redhead, forcefully coughed to remind Kintarou that they were in the middle of a scene.

* * *

"Takoyaki-neechaaaan!" A familiar voice made Yuni wake up from her nap and sit up to turn her head towards the direction of the source. It was the stubborn kid, brightly smiling at her as he ran towards her.

The skit of the tennis team ended about an hour ago, and it was a huge success. It was about a Prince Charming (that Zaizen guy) who had to choose who to save—Snow White (Shiraishi) or Cinderella (Oshitari). In the end, the Prince Charming didn't save any of the two princesses.

After the curtains were drawn, Yuni couldn't wait for the stubborn kid and Shiraishi outside the theater, unless she wanted to suffocate due to the great number of fans that were pouring out of the theater that time.

Having nothing to do and nowhere to go and nobody to be with, she went out and took a short nap under one of the trees in the school garden, only to be woken up by the stubborn kid after an hour.

The said boy knelt and tapped the cheeks of his Takoyaki-neechan, whose vision was still hazy from her nap. She rubbed her eyes to clear her vision, and wiped her mouth in case she was drooling while taking a nap.

Suddenly, Kintarou laughed loudly and pointed at her hair. "You have a leaf on your head, Takoyaki-neechan!"

The girl blushed, embarrassed. She combed her hair with her fingers until she was convinced that she didn't look like someone who just woke up. Standing up, she wondered why the stubborn kid was here. But before she could even ask, the wild redhead already spoke up in that usual loud voice of his.

"Let's go eat some takoyaki!" He declared, pulling the sleeves of Yuni's winter uniform. It was already November, so most of the girls started wearing their winter uniform in place of their summer uniform. The autumn wind could be rather chilly sometimes, you see. Although snow is rare in Osaka during winter, the wind and temperature could be really harsh at times.

As they were walking towards Kintarou's favorite takoyaki place, he was talking and babbling excitedly about some invitation to an upcoming camp that was just sent to the tennis team's captain earlier. He was talking about a guy named Koshimae too. Yuni thought it was a weird name.

"Shiraishi received an invitation to the U-17 tennis camp! That means I'm gonna see Koshimae once again! Yay, yay, yay~" He said, jumping up and down in extreme happiness. Even though the Shitenhouji Chuu tennis team didn't win the Nationals, the students were still proud of them. After all, they were Kansai's number one.

"U-17 camp? And who is Koshimae?" Yuni asked, curious about this Koshimae guy and why he has such a silly name. She supposed this U-17 camp that the stubborn kid was talking about is all about tennis, however, she is curious as to when the tennis team will be leaving for the said camp.

Her thoughts trailed to a certain tennis team captain.

_Not seeing Shiraishi-san for several weeks is not so bad, right?_ She thought to herself in vain effort of trying to cheer up.

She wasn't able to register whatever Kintarou was enthusiastically chattering about even though she was the one who asked questions and he was merely answering them. She was still thinking about her newfound friend Shiraishi. _Does Shiraishi-san consider me as a friend now too?_ She wondered.

"Waahhh~ Takoyaki!" Kintarou ran ahead of her as soon as the takoyaki place was in sight.

Shiraishi stood there waiting, smiling at Kintarou as he ran towards the place.

Yuni didn't know the exact reason why, but her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

* * *

It was a bright and brilliant Saturday morning.

Hirayama Yuni stood in the middle of their garden, captivated by the color of the leaves of the trees. She had just finished tending to her family's garden, ignoring the chilly autumn air that greeted her as soon as she went out of the house.

She sighed in awe. "I guess I'll walk around the park today!"

The girl went back inside the house to change clothes and told her mother that she'll be out for a while to take in the romantic atmosphere that the red-leaved trees emitted. The cherry blossoms in the nearby park would have started shedding their leaves now, too!

As she was walking towards the park, she thought about the school days that have just passed. That was probably one of the best cultural festivals she has ever experienced. There, she met new friends, tried to do new things, tried to eat new things, and enjoyed the company of two of the weirdest guys she has ever met.

_They're probably packing for their tennis camp right now…_ Yuni thought to herself. Kintarou said that they'll be leaving for Tokyo through the bullet train on early Sunday morning.

A part of her wanted to see Shiraishi once again… to be able to see his shiny hair once again, his healthy glowing skin, his sparkly smile, his weird sense of humor, his fatherly side over that stubborn kid, his sweet manly scent… Everything about him.

_Get a grip of yourself, Yuni!_

She sat down on one of the benches in the park and tapped both of her cheeks lightly, eyes closed. She could hear someone's steps approaching, probably an old man or woman who wants to read the morning paper while sitting on the bench.

Returning to reality, Yuni looked at the person who just sat beside her.

S-shiraishi?!

"Eep!" Yuni exclaimed and brought her hands to her chest, startled by the sudden appearance of the person who was just in her thoughts.

"S-shiraishi-san?!" She said in a still surprised way. "Why are you here? I thought you'll be busy packing your things for your tennis camp…"

The tennis team captain suppressed a laugh. She looked silly.

"I've finished it," he said in a casual tone and continued, "I wanted to walk around the neighborhood before I go to the tennis camp. Tokyo's quite far from here, after all and I think I'll miss this place somehow."

Yuni nodded meekly, at a loss of what to say or how to continue the conversation.

If only she had considered the probability of bumping into Shiraishi today, she would have made sure that she looked decent enough! Before she went out of the house a while ago, she just grabbed whatever clothes her hands laid on—white sweatpants and a white fitted t-shirt, a pale blue jacket for the chilly weather and an equally pale blue knitted beanie with ear flaps.

"What brought you here, Hirayama-san?"

"I just thought that the weather was nice, so I decided to go out for a walk…" She said softly. If only that stubborn kid was here, Yuni wouldn't be so meek.

Shiraishi looked up at the cherry blossoms and smiled, making Yuni's heart beat faster when she took a sideway glance.

She didn't have breakfast, you see, that's why her stomach suddenly growled; the sound seemed to be amplified a hundred times despite the chirping of the birds and rustling of the leaves.

Yuni could feel her cheeks heat up in embarrassment, looking down on the ground to avoid the tennis team captain's attention. She was so embarrassed she could jump off a cliff—never to be seen again!

Shiraishi lightly chuckled at her and smirked.

"I know a coffee shop nearby with good pancakes for breakfast." He stood up and turned to look at her and casually asked, "Wanna come?"

* * *

They were now on their way to Tokyo for the U-17 camp.

The team had gotten on the station early so that they'll arrive on the destination on time; it was better to be early than to be late, after all. Some of them brought a book or two to read, while some were asleep, and some were listening to music through their earphones.

Shiraishi took one of the window seats, his rowdy kouhai snoring loudly beside him—drooling a bit. Perhaps he's dreaming of takoyaki again…

The team's captain's thoughts contained a certain long-haired member of their school's archery club; the girl he met yesterday morning when he was taking a walk around the neighborhood after he was done packing his things. He hadn't considered meeting her there, probably pure coincidence, he mused.

His thoughts kept wandering back to her—the way she smiled at him yesterday, the way she blushed from embarrassment when her stomach growled in front of him, the way she would ride with Kin-chan's nonsense conversation, and her scent. It was the smell of her that drew Shiraishi to her.

"_Thank you for walking me home, Shiraishi-san," Yuni said with a pink tint on her cheeks. "And thank you for telling me where to eat good pancakes! They were really delicious."_

_The morning sunlight streamed down upon them as they were having a brief conversation in front of Yuni's house. Shiraishi noticed how healthy her skin looked, how healthy her hair looked, and how pretty her cheerful face was._

"_It was no big deal," The tennis team captain brushed off lightly and smiled casually._

"_Good luck on your tennis camp, Shiraishi-san!"_

_Yuni smiled at him and Shiraishi didn't know why but his day suddenly seemed brighter._

Looking back, Shiraishi wished he had befriended her when they were still in the same class a year ago. She seemed like a good friend, a pleasant companion; someone to have casual talks with, eat takoyaki with, have fun with, play games with, and just… spend time with.

He smiled as he continued to look outside the window.

Looks like he now had something to miss back home—a newfound friend.

* * *

**Yay~ it's done! I really really REALLY love Kin-chan waaaah *glomps***

**Anyway, reviews please~ :3 REVIEWS ARE LOVED 8'D**

**I have another idea for a ShiraishixOC one-shot fic but I need motivation gaaah. Nobody seems to review Remembering Privacy anymore, even though it's still gaining views -sigh- D: I want to know how you guys think of it... _**

**Don't be afraid to tell me whatever you think of this new story xD but please make your words not so harsh D:**


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